Age of Man: The End of the Beginning
by redborn28
Summary: A former group of legendary adventurers band together to confront the coming dark threat to the Kingdom. Old connections will be reforged, old friends will meet and sparks will fly as they work together to uncover the threat and its origins. The first of five stories in the Age of Man series.
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

_"The Age Of Gods has ended, leaving man to his own fate, the world now under his fingertips. Thus, it ushered in what is perhaps the greatest pinnacle and glory of the human race, the age where cities prospered and grew, where countless adventurers from across the land sought fame and fortune in the hopes of making it big, where the greatest and most iconic monuments, landmarks and paintings were created, and eventually gave birth to the legendary heroes that will forever leave their mark in the annals of history."_

* * *

In what was once a flourishing civilization has now descended into anarchy and chaos. Many countless bodies litter the streets of each city, the suffocating smell of sulfur lingering in the air as if a warning to those who have survived.

The forests remain barren, devoid of tree nor wildlife.

The mountains turned into volcanoes that spouted hot molten lava from its mouth, with the ash blanketing the sky like a dark shroud.

The seas and the oceans have turned into a crimson color, like the blood of countless men being made into syrup.

The roads remain empty, with only the deathly whispers and suffocating silence of the wind the only evidence that there were once people who traveled it and now have abandoned it to nature.

However, none can compare to the carnage, death and bloodbath that followed the fall of the Rune Midgard Continent.

* * *

The red burning sky was covered in a dark, thick smoke, with the smell of death and destruction permaneating in the air. On the battlefield lay swords, axes, pikes, broken arrows and even the corpses both men and beast. The blood, red sun gave the scene as if the gates of hell have opened on the earth.

Too many deaths too count. Too much blood spilled. Too many lives wasted on a futile resistance against the dark army whose innumerable numbers simply spilled into the masses of men and horses, sweeping them down like a raging tide.

The few remaining survivors continued to fight, knowing that a slight hesitation or a drop of cowardice will be enough to kill them. To them, it was a fight to the death, a fight against impossible odds that cannot be overcome.

Their faces were grim, with the grime and dirt covering their faces and armor, their breaths labored as they gasped for air to prepare for the next wave of enemies. Their grip on their weapons as firm as steel, draining their hands of their color as they directed their gazes unto the massive numbers of orcs, elves, undead, magical beings and animated armors assembled in front of them.

It was a dark army that thrived on death and destruction.

It was a dark army that showed no mercy nor left prisoners.

It was a dark army sent by the Gods to destroy man and the world.

It was a dark army that consumed everything that blocked its path.

It was a dark army that nearly conquered the entire continent, granted powers that no man can match:

The Power Of Death.

The Power of Chaos.

The Power of Destruction.

The three primary powers the dark army possessed that not even the most stalwart man nor the most fanatic believer can match or surpass.

To them, man were like bugs that needed to be exterminated as per the prophecy dictates:

* * *

_"When the world is on the brink of destruction, so too must man be destroyed._

_For in his actions lay the consequences and outcomes that plagued the earth._

_His pride led to his downfall, his greed taking control of his life, his lust leading him to a life of debauchery._

_Thus, the Gods left man to his own fate, to let him be the judge of his fellow man._

_To create the rules and to enforce them, and to follow them, and obey them._

_To shape the world to their liking as they see fit, ruling over their own domains like kings and royalty._

_And to be judged by the Gods when the end of time is near."_

* * *

Thus, the remaining survivors hoped and prayed that a miracle will occur, that the world will be saved from destruction. The haunting cheers and frightening roars made some of the survivors flinch, their bodies shivering in fear, their faces as white as snow.

Nevertheless, they steeled themselves for the inevitable, knowing that they will die fighting to the death, to be reunited with their loved ones and their friends in the afterlife, if there was an afterlife in the first place.

Then, like a mass of black fog that slowly shrouded everything it passed through in eternal darkness, the dark army marched forward, their footsteps making the earth tremble and the sky weep in sorrow with their spears raised high, the swords in their hands oozing with bloodlust.

The elves themselves had a blank look on their expressions, as if they were mere puppets without a will of their own, with their bows strapped on their backs with banner bearers upfront, their banners fluttering in the wind and moving ahead of the frontline.

The orcs had a maniacal grin on their faces, their lust for battle overriding all trace of common sense, if they had common sense in the first place. Their thick, green and bulky bodies were like stone, difficult to cut but not impossible to break.

The magical beings on the other hand were a different bunch: succubi, incubus, necromancers, dark priests, mayas and floating eyes mostly composed the group, with a host of other creatures forming the rest.

The undead featured death knights, former knights who were turned into walking, corpses of death armed with their previous experience and knowledge of combat. Alongside them came necromancers, undead magical beings who were formerly humans but turned to the dark arts to achieve more power. Leading them were abyssmal knights, intimidating with an aura that was even more sinister and suffocating than death.

They marched in unison, their steps aligning with one another, their thirst for destruction uniting them as one. The eerie atmosphere that descended the battlefield only added to their terrifying sight.

Suddenly, lightning cackled in the sky as a torrent of rain suddenly fell, soaking the ground with wet benediction. The ground became mud, mud became a brown, viscous liquid that turned into a mini-landslide that managed to unbalance some of the dark forces.

Then a storm of blades that appeared from the sky skewered the rest of the dark forces, their green and black blood staining the earth like slime.

From there, the sky illuminated a divine and holy cross made from light itself, destroying all undead forces in the battlefield, which was brighter than the sun and forced the survivors to close their eyes. When they opened their eyes, all they saw was white smoke on the battlefield, with some of survivors continuing their advance, undeterred by the death of their comrades.

From the clouds came a large silhouette of a hammer, descending the ground from the sky like a bolt of lightning. It struck the ground and the splattered insides of some of the dark beings littered the ground, while those who were at a distance were stunned, three small stars circling their heads, their gazes out of focus.

When all of this was happening the survivors bravery and resolve suddenly came back, as if the Gods themselves have descended from the heavens to push back the raging tide. The gate that spawned the dark army continued to bring troops from the void, a never ending stream of black figures marching towards them.

A bright light appeared and engulfed the battlefield and after a few seconds seven figures stood infront of the survivors, covered in light brown cloaks that danced with the wind.

The first one held a large sword on his left hand.

The second had an elegant and beautiful staff engraved with gems held on her right hand.

The third had an extremely heavy hammer that was hoisted on his right arm.

The fourth had katars on each of his hands, their menacing shape giving off an aura of terror.

The fifth had a bow on her left hand, with her quiver visible from her back.

The final member had a small white cross dangling from her neck, with a golden mace fastened on her waist.

All of them had an aura of power, an aura of authority that was similar to the Gods. They were called the Divine Six, a group of humans who transcended their humanity and achieved the impossible: The attainment of the power of the Gods as a human being.

They were the first recorded demi-humans in history: Half-mortal, Half-god blessed with both the limitations and potentials of a human and the power of a god.

Together, they led the charge against the dark forces, the survivors following their lead. They tore their way into the enemy formation like giants on the attack. Their arrows never missed and struck true, never missing their mark. A brown blur weaved in and out, decapitating and slicing off some of their number.

As they slowly made their way towards the dark portal, the number of enemies that they fought increased to the point that they were now fighting side-by-side among each other literally.

Nevertheless, they persevered and were met with the first and only King of Glast Heim, King Reginald, who stood infront of them, with his Chaos Guards flanking him on both sides. The Chaos Guards were the personal elite unit of the King himself hand picked from the most loyal and talented of knights.

They were covered in a full helm that only revealed their eyes, full plate mail that covered their torso with iron pauldrons on their shoulders and their long cloaks that fluttered in the wind paired up with iron greaves. They wielded a vanguard shield on their left and a lance on their right.

They stood in attention with eight of them flanking his sides. The King himself was dressed in a blood red armor and a full helm that covered his entire face with only slits present, with spiky protrusions on his shoulder armor and blood red greaves with a long blade protruding upward from the middle reaching up to his knees. He also wore a cloak made of blood and twin swords were hanging from his waist.

Both sides stood facing one another, without a word being said between them as their armies clashed around them. Then, they dashed towards the other, signaling the start of their battle, the battle for the world...

* * *

Nobody knows how the battle went nor how it was won by them but legend has it that the Kings' power was too powerful to be sealed and the only viable option is to sacrifice their lives to become seals that will keep the king shackled for the next thousand years.

Thus, the legend of the six was born, out of the ashes came reconstruction, rejuvenation and the start of a new beginning. Yet, the threat hasn't ended for in the horizon the dark forces slowly recovered their strength, to again finish the task that they never succeeded.

And a thousand years pass, the continent prospers and adventurers of all kinds flock towards its fields and dungeons as the winds of change come and go for a new legend waiting to be born...

* * *

**I would like to welcome all readers to the first story in my Age of Man series. The first story in a series of five that will start from the diverse continent of Rune Midgard to the newly discovered and mysterious New World filled with giants, elves and other mythological beings.**

**I hope that you will enjoy reading the story and if you have any comments, questions or criticisms then post it since this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction.**

**Note: This is a revised edition wherein I included the prologue, which I forgot to upload on my first try.**


	2. The Journey to Payon

Chapter 1

* * *

The forests of Payon were an amazing sight to behold. The lush and vibrant trees along with the sounds of crickets in the early morning gave it a life of its own. It is also the home of many creatures like willows, smokies, elder willows, snakes, wolves, greatest generals and the occasional nine tail which is hunted for its exotic tail.

Now, another adventurer passed through the forest following the faded trail of dirt on the forest floor. He looked to be in his 20s, with spiky black hair that contrasted with his clear, blue eyes. He was also tall for his age and had the look of a seasoned veteran. On his right side he carried an old, battered claymore, a large double-edged sword whose sheathe looked old and torn. He wore a bone helm on his head with a green, fin-like accessory tucked on both his ears and a romantic leaf on his mouth.

He had a collar forged from interlocking plates below his neck and his shirt had the pronteran coat of arms displayed in front paired with a loincloth below his waist while his shoulders had metal pouldrons on top of them. On his back he wore an old, weathered brown cape with plate mail hidden underneath his shirt. His legs were covered with hardened leather pants covered with shin-guards, iron clad boots and leg mail.

Despite the heavy equipment that he carried, he walked as if he never wore them in the first place, his pace matching that of an assassins walking speed.

What made him stand out however was his aura. While other adventurers displayed an aura of fear, gentleness, authority, valor, hope and openness his aura denoted that of a calm breeze. A breeze that made you safe and secure but at the same time cautious. As if he was going to lash out at any moment.

As if he was a disaster waiting to happen at a moments notice.

He walked at a leisurely place, enjoying the sights and sounds the forest had to offer while the creatures of the forest scurried about, minding their own business. His gaze swept around the forest, observing the said creatures in their natural habitat.

Along the way he encountered the occasional wolf packs led by a vagabond wolf, a creature whose body is slightly larger than that of your ordinary wolf. The traveler dispatched them easily, washing the blood off his sword after every fight. He also took 5 minute breaks every now and then, feasting on the forests beauty. After awhile he would continue on his journey, not noticing that something is stalking him from the undergrowth of a tree.

Behind the tree a pair of eyes followed his every movement. It had cat-shaped eyes with a predatorial look on its expression. After a few seconds it disappeared, hiding beneath the canopy of trees that surrounded it while still following the adventurer's trail.

The said traveler was a **Knight**, the class known for its primary use of swords in battle. Unlike the other classes knights prefer to use two-handed swords specifically with some specializing in the use of spears. What was odd though was the fact that he was walking instead of mounting his peco-peco.

Usually, knights are known for riding their pecos even if the distance they have to travel was a few blocks away. Thus, it is rare to see a knight un-mounted and walk to his destination, especially if the destination itself was from Prontera to Payon.

A tiring journey for anyone who isn't used to walking long distances or for those who have physically weak constitutions.

Regardless, the knight sensed that he was being watched by someone or something hiding in the forest and stopped in the middle of the forest floor. With a focus that only years of experience can give he closed his eyes and emptied his mind.

The only sound he could hear was the soft voice of the wind as he listened to its silent call.

After a long bout of silence he suddenly snapped back to attention and glanced on his left. In the distance he saw the silhouette of his stalker, knowing that he was in for a fight.

The pair of eyes that followed him suddenly made its presence known, shouting a thunderous roar that shook the entire forest. The knight turned around and saw his opponent.

A fat and bulky creature whose fur is covered with tiger stripes and walks on both legs armed with claws on its arms. On his mouth was an old, brown pipe, a rare item that can fetch millions with the right buyer. On his left eye was a vertical scar that contrasted with its wild appearance. Its face resembled that of a tigers with 3 whiskers on each cheek.

This creature is called Eddga, the protector of the forest. He is also called the forest hunter because of its hate for humans, regardless of whether their intentions are good or bad and has caused the deaths of countless travelers and adventurers.

Some of them who couldn't even fight back were eaten alive, with their friends suffering the same fate, or being killed like cattle. Not to mention the fact that he tends to summon five bigfoots to serve as his minions even when not being attacked.

Even creatures have the tendency to be paranoid of their surroundings.

Surprisingly, it also caused the deaths of several parties who were inexperienced and even veteran parties were the unfortunate victims of its brutal attacks.

Today, the creature-No the beast called Eddga is going to claim another victim. Unfortunately for the beast, this 'victim' was different from the rest. He neither showed fear nor surprise and stood his ground and even flared his aura a bit to counter the beasts own.

He closed his eyes and breathed in and out, dissipating the tension in his muscles. As he slowly opened his eyes, he unsheathed his sword from its place. The sword itself had slight gash marks around it and its battered appearance suggest that its has slain countless enemies in countless battles and glistened in the suns' rays.

His eyes had a detached gaze in them, as if the only thing he saw was the creature itself. Upon closer look you can see that there was a deep abyss inside brimming with power. The suns bright rays were shining above him at this time, his entire being enclosed in a bright light that can only be compared to the appearance of a God.

When the suns' rays disappeared the 'victim' vanished,as if he was never there in the first place. The beasts' eyes widened and blood was spilled onto ground. The beasts' left arm was severed and it all happened in a fraction of a second.

Next, its right arm followed with blood dyeing its fur of crimson. Only after that attack did the beast roar in pain and thrashed about while his wounds started to bleed out.

On the other hand, the knight appeared on the same position he stood on as if he never attacked in the first place, his old, battered claymore back in its sheathe and his gaze calm and steady while looking at his opponent.

"It seems I went a bit overboard," he muttered silently. Seeing the beast thrashing about in pain, he wiped the blood on his mouth.

Its metallic taste and viscous texture told the knight that he couldn't drag this fight out much longer, especially since his body couldn't cope with such power.

The knight let out a long sigh and ran his hand over his hair.

"Guess I should end this since I want to enjoy my trip," he said this as if the opponent was not worth his time.

Then the beast turned its attention to the knight, its eyes glowing in fury and rage. With a mighty roar, he charged the knight head-on, ignoring the loss of both its arms.

"Huh, it seems that you are intent on killing me eh?" He asked the charging beast.

As if he was not expecting an answer, he said "Well, sorry bro but-," again he vanished, disappearing completely from view.

And sliced through the beasts chest in a downward swing cutting through its thick skin "-I," again he disappeared this time appeared underneath its body.

The sound of steel eating flesh was heard, and cut off the beasts' remaining arm, this time on an upward swing "-will,"

The last cut was done by a thrust, splitting the beasts head into two parts and at the same time splitting the pipe on its mouth into two halves.

"-live," and landed on the beasts back. The beast stood still for a few seconds before blood spurt from it corpse, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Its lifeless eyes from its split head looking back at the knight.

"Well, now that's over I can resume my journey," he said in a care-free tone, as if he never fought the creature in the first place.

He sheathed his sword and continued his walk when out of the corner of his eye he saw a card and a yellow-colored and fragrant berry, both stained in the blood of the slain beast.

"An eddga card and a yggdrassil berry? Wow, I got lucky," he exclaimed. He bent down, grabbed both items from the ground and resumed his journey.

He looked back at the fallen beasts corpse for a few seconds and muttered, "A shame I didn't get a pipe though." With that remark he continued on his way.

And everything in the forest became normal again, as if a fight never occurred in the first place. The blood of the beast staining the forests' floor and its unmoving corpse made it look as if the forest itself was the cause of its death.

Nevertheless, it did not stain its splendor, not one bit but rather it added a bit of color to its surroundings.

In the distance the figures' silhouette slowly faded into the forest, as the sun slowly rose up as it had done from the time of its existence, its rays illuminating the forest floor while the creatures of the forest did their daily routines, not having a care in the world.

The calm breeze continued to spread its message to all of nature, while the birds went back to their nests and continued to sing their song. They added even more life and vitality to the forests' picturestique view.

Thus, the traveler continued his journey, taking in the sights and sounds of payons lush and green forests as he went on his way, accidentally stepping on the occasional mushroom.

* * *

As his journey continued he passed by some adventurers, rookies by the look of it, attempting to kill a willow. They were doing well in avoiding its swipes as they kept attacking it from all sides.

"So the forest is a popular training ground eh?," he observed. He kept on walking and saw two adventurers, a thief and a swordsman, taking on a wolf. Unfortunately, this caused the other two wolves in the area to band together and attack them. The said adventurers split up and tackled each wolf individually, with one of the adventurers taking on both. He stopped and replayed a memory on his head.

_*Flashback*_

_Mt. Mjolnir was a haven for monsters who love making their homes in its mountainous regions, so it was no surprise then that it is also the home of argiopes: large, centipede-like creatures with elongated bodies having multiple pairs of legs per segment. They are also armed with two claws that look like fangs which secrete venom when they bite and have a reddish brown color._

_Also these creatures are fast, fast enough to catch up to an assassin walking at normal speed and__ their sharp senses ensured that even hidden prey is within their grasp._

_They are also aggressive creatures, always taking adventurers by surprise who travel using the mountainous path and attacking them, with most dying because of their venom._

_However, a single swordsman managed to do the reverse and took them by surprise, engaging 4 of the creatures without fear._

_Unfortunately, said swordsman broke his sword while taking on several mantises, aggressive creatures with folded fore-limbs who jump on both legs when attacking their prey. They also have fan-like hands when they are idle, a peculiar feature._

_"Damn, I must be crazy enough to fight against 4 of these things," he muttered. As soon as he said it he narrowly avoided the attack coming from his left._

_"Especially since I don't have a spare and broke my only sword because I used magnum break too much," he again dodged the attack coming from his left side, nearly being bitten by its claws._

_"Well, at least I got a bit of a workout out of it," he said while panting and catching his breath, looking over his opponents one by one._

_"Hmm, maybe I can use those long, sturdy branches as make-shift weapons," he thought while glancing on his right side, a huge tree with long branches stretching out which was unfortunately guarded by an argiope._

_He didn't have time to rest though because he dodged another one coming from the back, missing him completely._

_"This is gonna be a challenge...I have to get past its guard," he said this as he dashed towards the creature._

_The creature, sensing that it was about to be attacked also moved forward, its claws outstretched and ready to inject venom. _

_The swordsman, with superhuman reflexes, managed to slip past its guard, quickly broke off one of the trees' branches and focused his entire power on it. A bright light was surrounding it and the swordsman twisted his body to the opposite direction, jumped at mid-air and launched a powerful strike on the argiopes exposed back._

_The said creature thrashed in pain and after a couple of seconds collapsed on the ground, with a huge hole on its back._

_After the swordsman landed on the ground, the branch he was holding suddenly broke, due to the immense strength he put into the attack._

_"I can't believe it...it really worked!" he exclaimed in surprise. Now knowing that he can take on the remaining three creatures with his discovery, he did the same thing and managed to kill them with his clothes covered in dirt and mud and his face sporting a few bruises and scratches._

_Fortunately, there was a river nearby which was located on one of the lower paths and so he went there, wiping the dirt off his clothes, washed the mud on his face and sat down near the river. He sat there for a few minutes, observing the area, which had a few trees, a couple of wild flowers, and the occasional red and blue plants, which produced red herbs and blue herbs which are in high demand in the market._

_The swordsman, feeling refreshed stood up and went on his way while gathering the herbs for emergency supplies._

_"These herbs are going to come in handy for the remaining journey ahead," and so he continued to gather the remaining herbs and after being satisfied with the amount he had, he continued his journey._

_"Next time I'll definitely bring a spare," he said while massaging his left-hand, easing the pain from his reckless attack._

_*Flashback End*_

"Yep, definitely reminds me of it...without the missing weapon part of course," he muttered to himself.

After seeing the two in action kill the wolves, with the thief panting a bit, he continued on his way. He also passed by a mage, running away from a snake monster, featuring green scales and a white underbelly.

By the looks of it, the mage was a girl, around 14 years old and had her green colored hair tied into a ponytail.

"The old cast and run tactic is still being used huh?" he thought, "I guess **her **tactics have really become popular among aspiring mages."

He shook his head when his gaze focused on the mage, casting her firebolt spell as the snake came near. The snake came within meters of her when it suddenly screamed in pain, its dying screech unnerving the mage a bit.

"It looks like she hasn't learned firewall yet, it will prove useful," he said as an afterthought, getting his focus back on track and continuing his journey towards Payon.

The rest of the day passed by and soon he arrived near the bridge that led to the city.

* * *

_"A single step will start a journey, a journey will lead to discovery because man seeks himself in all things, whether in nature or in God. Thus, it is important that our journey is a meaningful one, one that is rife with pleasure, pain, adventure and experience"_ -Author


	3. The Reunion

Chapter 2

* * *

By the time the traveler arrived in **Payon**, the sun was already on its highest point. Obviously, it was already noon time and it is not surprising then that the people inside city took their lunch breaks in relatively peace.

As he walked the bridge, he passed by a rectangular sign board covered by an Asian style concave roof on top and being supported by 15 meter beams near the entrance with the words: "**Welcome to Payon**" inscribed on it. After passing by the entrance he saw several adventurers talking and milling about. Some of them were young and in their teens and some were old, with scars adoring their faces.

One of the adventurers, a resting blacksmith with a cigarette on his mouth who sat near the city entrance, momentarily had his senses overwhelmed because of the travelers aura as he passed by him. After a few seconds he recovered, his gaze focused on the travelers fading back.

The blacksmith saw the travelers figure fade into the mass of people and continued his rest, all the while wiping the sweat that fell on his face. He realized that said traveler possessed tremendous power enough to destroy anyone who gets in his way.

Inside the city proper, you can see houses sporting the same Asian style concave roofs, with some of the houses also sporting normal roofs made out of hardened bamboo. There are also inns located around the place, with some filled with adventurers and others with few adventurers.

"Hmm, this city ain't so bad after all," he said this as a smirk formed on his face.

However, he remembered that he was supposed to meet his old friend near the **Payon Inn**, the most popular inn in the city.

"I guess it'll have to wait then since its been awhile since I've seen him," and so he decided to go to the inn, passing by merchants selling their wares and adventurers lining up in front of a Kafra representative, awaiting their turn to access their storage.

He was unaware that someone was observing him behind a tall tree near the Kafra representative, shivering in fear due to his close proximity to her.

* * *

"It seems like he's back from his journey then," a man muttered silently. He was clad in a black overcoat with a belt firmly clasped around his waist. The chest area of his overcoat was covered in what seemed like bandages criss-crossed towards one another with leather pauldrons on his shoulder. On his neck are two red-colored sashes, dancing in the wind with his upper arms and lower ankles also covered with bandages.

The said man was leaning on the side of a tree and is the same height as the traveler. His unruly white hair reached down to his neck. His eyes had a dark shade of brown and he wore a sakkat, a hat knit from sturdy wood on his head with an assassin mask covering his mouth. He looked to be in his 20's, his youthful appearance concealing his years of experience.

On both his hands are equipped infiltrators, extremely rare katars that have an unusual design featuring a blade on top and an elliptical shaped opening below on its center with two quarter shaped circles curving outward with spikes protruding on both sides and features a hand grip that looked like 2 pliers with their pivots between the jaw and their handle fused by a steel rod.

Its unusual design ensured that it hit a human opponents' vital spot, thus causing instant death. By the looks of it, it had seen better days, with a few cracks visible on the blade and some parts of the handle showing small cracks. He also carried two cutters, small daggers with thinly formed blades and small hilts which are dangling by his waist which by the looks of it, are brand new and are gleaming under the sun.

Sensing that his presence started to scare the kafra representative, he decided to go ahead towards the inn, blending into his surroundings and passing by some adventurers, who shivered in fear as if they had escaped death itself.

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived ahead of the traveler and went to the counter to reserve a table for the two of them.

"Excuse me miss, do you a table for two?" he asked the inn keeper politely. He radiated an aura of death and the inn keeper suddenly felt uneasy.

"Y-y-yes, w-w-we do sir," the inn keeper stammered in reply, sweating profusely with fear in her eyes. Even the rest of the customers in the inn were suddenly fidgeting on their seats, as if his very presence alone will mean death.

"I see then I would like to take it please," the man said in a polite tone, somewhat alleviating the inn keeper's apparent fear, not that it helped that much.

"T-t-there i-is a-a t-table n-n-near t-t-the w-windows s-sir t-that i-is v-vacant," she stuttered in respone and looked ready to collapse because of the amount of pressure he was exerting.

Needless to say, some of the customers who were of weak constitution collapsed on their tables, with some ready to run outside. It was that scary and suffocating and the man knew that and didn't do it on purpose.

"Thank you miss, here's your tip," he grabbed five hundred zen coins inside his pouch and gave it to the inn keeper. The inn keeper quickly took the money and ran towards the door beside the counter.

The man sighed and went to the table and waited for the traveler. After he seated himself comfortably, the atmosphere in the inn returned to normal with the customers able to breathe normally. The inn keeper eventually came back and served the man lunch, a simple meal of rice and cooked bear meat paired with apple juice.

And so the man ate, ordering another meal for the traveler, knowing that he didn't eat much and tended to skip meals when he felt like it.

* * *

When the traveler finally his destination, the suns' rays shone even brighter. He was sweating a bit and saw that the customers of the inn started to grow, with people slowly flocking towards it.

"No wonder its so popular here," he commented, "its as if it has become a part of the city itself."

It was large inn with two floors, with tables outside the inn covered with umbrellas and fenced in with flowers adorning the outside. Inside the fenced area there is a old wooden door in the center, beyond the tables, with the building featuring old, concrete walls adorned with cracked lines. It also had 2 windows on each of its sides and three windows on the front and on the back.

After his observation, he went inside and saw many people talking and drinking and the waitresses always moving about serving their guests. His eyes darted over the masses of people until he found the one he was looking for.

"Always the loner huh Erik," he muttered. He walked towards the left side of the inn where a man sat down, enjoying his meal while glancing over the windows.

The man sensed the traveler approaching, turned his head and said "Well Faulk, its been a long time."

"Yeah, its been 5 years since we last saw each other," he replied in return. The traveler sat down opposite the man and they started to talk about their experiences for the last 5 years.

"You're still working as a freelancer?" he asked the assassin.

"The pay's good, enough to cover my daily expenses. Besides, I'm living by myself so its all good." the assassin replied.

"Hmm..it seems that you prefer to live a simple lifestyle then," he commented.

"I do since I can easily manage it and I have more time to focus on my job." They continued to share stories while eating their meal, occasionally speaking idle banter and sometimes trading jokes to pass the time.

Their conversation continued until 3 o'clock in the afternoon at which point the inn was now filled with a few people, most of them newcomers.

"Wow, time sure flies by so fast huh?" the knight said to his friend while drinking water from a wooden mug.

"Yeah, I never realized that it has been a really, really long time that we have seen each other," the assassin answered, "I wonder how the others are doing?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they are doing well in whatever they are doing," he shrugged, "I trust in their skills and respect their decision so have faith in them."

"That's reassuring. You are still optimistic as usual," the assassin said as if it was a common occurrence. "Me? I'm too pessimistic for my own good."

"Now, now its not bad to be pessimistic once in awhile but **always** being pessimistic about life is extremely bad for your health," he explained it like a big brother scolding his little brother.

The assassin ran his hair between his hands and answered "Yes sir!" with a mocking salute. The knight just shook off his antics it and made their way outside the inn.

* * *

Outside, the sun didn't shine as brightly as it did since it was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The city plaza only had a handful of adventurers resting and milling about while the children ran and played around with their mothers doing their daily household tasks.

Once outside, both men made their way down the hill, turning into a corner and headed straight to payon village. The entrance to said village had a payonese guard guarding the entrance. The entrance itself was situated between two cliffs, supported by 20 meter wooden beams.

After checking in with the guard, they went inside and eventually reached a branching path, one heading to the left, the other one to the right.

Both men followed the right pathway, their destination the Archers Guild. Its the only guild in all of Rune Midgard that trains archers and gave Payon the monicker of **Archer City**.

The guild itself was situated on the eastern most part of the village, with a pond nearby filled with crystal clear water surrounded by trees and bamboo on all sides. The building itself showed signs of aging, with cracks and lines adorning its walls outside.

When they arrived at the guild, they saw that it was an archery range, with 5 targets each mounted on a wooden platform supported by four wooden legs lined up side-by-side, about a meter apart. They also saw some of the students taking their break with their bows right by their sides.

"Archery has become popular now, don't you think?" the knight observed.

"Yep and its all thanks to her efforts that it became possible in the first place," the assassin answered.

"Are you sure she's here? I mean I still can't accept the fact that she started to teach students," the knight asked his friend, surprised by the revelation that one their friends' started to teach.

"I'm 100% positive she's here. My data don't lie bro," the assassin boasted, "In fact, I also know** her** location if you're curious."

"Whoah, there is no way I'm gonna ask for** her** location. **She** would fry me to death if I ever met her face to face."

"C'mon you should man up! **She** was hurt when you suddenly disappeared without telling her you know."

The knight sighed and said "If I didn't do it then **she** wouldn't have matured since she kept relying on me to bail her out of trouble."

With this reply, the assassin kept his mouth shut, knowing that it was impossible to argue with him. It was obvious that the knight was a brick wall regarding** her** feelings. Nevertheless, they continued their conversation while passing by the archery range, ignoring the stares being directed towards them by the students.

A young woman whose long, red hair reached up to her waist with a ribbon accessory on the right side of her head with deep mysterious grey eyes has been listening to their conversation for quite some time now, observing them through the window. She also looked to be in her 20s, with a pretty face, a slightly tanned complexion and had an aura of maturity around her.

"It seems that they haven't reconciled with one another," she muttered. The woman was dressed in a leather shirt and leather shorts, with sandals on her feet. Her physical appearance is similar to that of an Olympic athletes, with all the right curves, muscles and fat in all the right places.

The woman stood up and went outside, muttering to herself "I guess I better talk to them before they cause a commotion."

The woman approached them with some of the students inside wondering as to why their teacher decided to go outside. Their gaze focused on both men who were approaching her.

They both stopped in front of each other, with the three of them looking as if they had met an old friend.

"Faulk? Erik? what are you guys doing here?" she questioned them, demanding answers from both men.

The woman's temper suddenly became aggressive, as if she were dealing with vagabonds, her face set in a stern expression.

This naturally set the assassin on edge, with the knight giving her a blank look saying 'What?'

"Err...calm down Miki! we are just here to ask for your help," the assassin answered quickly.

Upon hearing Erik's response she said, "Oh is that all? I thought it was something serious like a mercenary mission."

"That's exactly why we're here for, to convince you to join us for the mission," the knight told her.

"A mercenary mission from the king then?" she answered back. Both men nodded their heads upon confirming her suspicions. She sighed and decided to bring them inside the guild. Once inside she told them that many adventurers came to the guild for the past few days, asking for her services.

"Let's find a place where there will be no eavesdroppers nearby," after she said this she guided them towards an old, rounded and battered table near the corner with three chairs surrounding it. After that she went to the back of the counter where the kitchen was located and served them green tea.

When she saw both men being comfortable in their seats, she took her seat, facing the assassin and went straight to the point. "So, what's the mission all about?"

And so the assassin explained the contents of the mission, with the knight providing suggestions as to how to tackle it. Their discussion eventually extended into the night, with both men staying on the guilds second floor for the night.

* * *

The moon shone brightly on the dark, blue sky, with the stars twinkling on the horizon and the clouds just moving along slowly like old men with canes, who take their time to do anything without a care in the world.

In the silence of the night, you could hear the sounds of arrows hitting their targets and the nocking of the string as the bow let loose its pent-up energy, the trajectory of its arrows rippling through the air.

Outside the guild on the archery range, you could see the figure of a woman shooting her targets like a huntress hunting her prey, with both her stance and her form perfect, her breathe becoming one with her arrow, as if she nature herself became one with her: mind, body and spirit.

A few of these arrows missed their targets, with some completely missing the bull's-eye and some breaking mid-flight before they even reached their target.

"It seems that I need to go back to basics," she muttered. The cold wind and the hypnotizing glow of the moon made her sleepy and decided to go back inside. She returned the bow to its holster and went up to her room. Rubbing her eyes she removed the ribbon on her hair, blew off the candle on the table on the left side of her bead before her head softly landed on her pillow.

Eventually she fell asleep with this single thought in mind: _"I hope you guys get together."_

* * *

_"Society exists because of unity, unity comes from the collective thoughts of man. Thus, man is made to interact with his fellowman, for only through teamwork can all things be made possible." _-Author


	4. A Memory from the Past

Chapter 3

* * *

The bright rays of the sun shone through the window, illuminating her sleeping form. Her body was covered in a soft cotton blanket reaching up to her chest, with her breathing softly as she slept. She slowly opened her left eye, with both her hands infront of them, making sure that she wasn't blinded by the sunlight.

"….." she rubbed her eyes and after a few seconds slowly stood up on her bed, stretching her arms with her joints making a slight cracking noise.

"Haaa…I want to sleep more…" she said this while mumbling about stupid missions and idiotic companions, her dishevelled hair making her look as if a storm just passed by her room.

After getting up, she went to her cabinet and changed into her hunter attire, a cream colored, short sleeved jacket that exposed her belly with a light brown leather undershirt covering her chest area fastened by a slim belt with a hoodie on the back. She also wore a brown leather breechcloth fastened by a small grey belt while wearing her light, leather shorts underneath, which barely reached half of her legs. On both her arms are black arm leggings stretching from her shoulder down to her hands, showing only her fingers with a yellow colored wristband fixed on both her wrists.

She checked herself in front of a large, rectangular mirror located on the left side of the door, facing her bed. Feeling satisfied, she opened the door and went down the stairs and saw both men waiting outside, the assassin yawning with a look of bored expression on his face while the knight turned and waved his hand towards her with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

She responded to this action with a sigh, thinking "_lazy bastard, stop being so immature._"

In the end she just banished the thought from her mind, knowing that despite his lazy and easy-going attitude, he can be serious and mature if the situation calls for it.

Before she went out she said goodbye to the guildmaster, saying that the mission was from the king himself. The guild master just nodded his head as he realized that it is a priority mission and gave her back her hunter bow, a smooth bow made out of sinew and bamboo whose tip curves away when strung. The bow had a few scratches on its body, with the string made of strong linen that could last for 3-5 years before being replaced.

Some of the students, who heard from the guild master that she was going on a journey, also said their goodbyes and farewells, which she responded also in kind.

Now that she has arrived their party is now composed of three people, which allowed them to undertake the mission.

"I thought a party should be composed of at least two people?" she asked the knight.

"Well, I wanted to make sure that our party will be able to handle anything, thus we decided to recruit you," the knight replied, "Think of it as being prepared ahead of time. It reduces our chances of being overwhelmed you know."

The huntress, feeling satisfied with his answer, took to looking around her surroundings. They left the village and proceeded to the kafra representative in the city, bowing and thanking an adventurer who just finished storing his items.

She told the two that she would be getting some of her equipment from the storage and decided to wait for her near a bench.

When the kafra saw her approaching figure, she smiled and said: "Welcome to Kafra Corp. Would you like to use the storage?" She nodded her head and a pad with ten keys denoting each number appeared in front of her and typed her password. With a clicking sound she opened her storage and grabbed three items from the vault.

The first item was an apple with an arrow sticking through it.

The second item was a pair of binoculars, their lenses covered with slight dust.

The last item was a bubblegum stick, its appearance showing that it is still fresh and brand new.

Satisfied, she closed her storage, thanked the kafra which thanked her in return, equipped said items(unwrapping and chewing the bubblegum of course) and went to her companions. Seeing that she was done with her business, they stood up and walked towards the entrance.

"Alright, I guess its time to go and round up the others!" the knight said with excitement.

"Now, now we have to make sure that we know **who** to round up," the huntress replied, "Besides, the mission had no time limit right? So we can take our time to gather our friends."

"I agree, in fact since there are three of us now how about we go to Geffen first?" the assassin questioned, "besides the fact that we need a wizard in our party, it would make it easier for us to traverse dangerous areas, thus cutting our supply expenses by half," he explained.

"That might work but the problem is that a priest is more important since it will reduce our reliance on healing potions," the knight countered, "not to mention the fact that we will be facing demon and undead hordes in the future…then you know that we need a healer much more than a wizard."

"Hmm…you have a point," the assassin replied. He had a thoughtful look on his face, as if he was thinking of someone.

The knight saw his expression and commented, "So, you want to recruit her then?"

This snapped the assassin out of his thoughts and answered, "Well…if she wants to because we made a promise that we won't force each other to do what they don't like to do right?"

Miki, who has been quietly listening to their conversation, decided to add her ten cents into their discussion, "We really don't know if she would reject or accept our offer without trying right? So I suggest that we first go to Prontera and look for her there."

Faulk, who heard her, replied "She's right and besides, she would be happy to see you too Erik."

On hearing this, Erik opened his mouth to respond to Faulk's answer but decided to keep his mouth shut. This action puzzled both of them and decided to drop the conversation.

From the entrance they travelled towards the south, encountering some horongs, floating, evil spirits who are surrounded by a dark, ominous flame and a few ninetails', foxes who can spit out fire from their mouths and have nine tails.

They then went east towards Prontera where they encountered and defeated both a ghostring and an angeling, evolved porings whose body is coated in a ghostly and divine aura respectively that haunted the area.

The journey then continued in relative peace and silence, stopping every now and then for rest.

* * *

Prontera, the capital of Rune Midgard, was brimming with life on this particular morning. Everywhere you go you can see groups of adventurers taking a stroll on the streets or window shopping by some merchant stalls. Its white, marble tiles and its sprawling buildings that contrasted with the suns' glistening white light gave it the title of White City, because of the image of the afterlife it conveyed.

The city itself is also surrounded by solid, stone walls, ensuring that the city itself can survive a siege and kept the king safe from harm. It is also the home of the **Knight's Guild**(formerly called the** Pronteran Chivalry**) and the **Pronteran Church**, the two most powerful and influential organizations within Prontera.

In the center of the city, you could see a large, circular fountain with the statue of Odin on top surrounded by a bench on each of its sides. It's close proximity to several buildings made it a popular meeting place for adventurers to find parties, talk to their friends or just needed a point of reference so that they won't get lost.

They call it the** City Center** and it was surrounded by walls on all sides as well, its four entry points being patrolled and guarded by the pronteran city guards.

On the northeast is the **Arms and Weapons Dealer**, which sells weapons and armor.

On the northwest is the **Tool and Item Dealer**, which sells fly wings, butterfly wings and red potions.

On the southeast is **Holleghren's Smith Works**, an infamous place among adventurers because of its high rate of failure in strengthening weapons and armor.

And on the southwest is a** Small Classroom**, where children attend their classes.

There are also numerous market stalls dotting the streets that sell fresh fruit, meat, and even pet food for those who have pets. The street lamps only added to its beauty and elegance since most of the people who live here are rather 'well-off', not that rich or not that poor but just in the middle.

The castle is located on the north, its gates being guarded by pronteran soldiers. Its faded, light brown walls with the royal family's coat of arms drapping over it is a symbol of the king's authority. It is also within these walls that the famed **Imperial Knights** are located, each of their members capable of taking on many opponents twice their skill and numbers and emerging victorious.

The Imperial Knights only recruit the best and the brightest swordsmen and knights that excel in both their studies and their training. They typically train new recruits for two weeks, doing brutal exercises that made crusader training pale in comparison. After two weeks of rigorous and brutal training, they are formally inducted into the group.

Unlike the knights at the Pronteran Chivalry, the Imperial Knights enjoy several privileges:

The first one is that their meals are provided by the king.

The second one is they receive a stipend of 50000 zen every month, ensuring that they have pocket money to spend.

The third one is they have exclusive access to the Imperial Armory where rare weapons of all kinds are stored.

The fourth one is that they are granted authority by the king to take command of forces in the event of an emergency.

It is also the cause of friction between the Knight's Guild and the Imperial Knights with the former saying that the Imperial Knights are the king's 'lapdogs' while the latter considers the former as 'a ragtag bunch of misfits in knights clothing'. Needless to say it led to frequent fighting between the two groups, with the Pronteran Church serving as the mediators in these fights.

In a scene reminiscient of a gang war, a fight broke out near one of the streets close to the castle: the opposing groups stood face to face, with 20 members on each side giving harsh glares to the other. On the middle stood two people, both in their 30's, the first one having blonde, swept-back hair and the other one having brown hair styled in a buzzcut.

Both men were knights, with the only difference being that the former wore a helm with 3 slits on his head and the latter wore an angel wing, a headband made out of soft, lunatic fur embedded with an angels' wings on his head while wearing a full set of white armor.

They stood in front of each other until the blonde knight asked "What is the meaning of this Darius?"

The brown haired knight replied, "Its quite obvious Lucas, the budget that was supposed to be given to the Knight's Guild will be cut by half." With an indifferent shrug he continued, "Besides, there had been very few knights being trained for the last five years and you guys don't exactly have a smooth reputation."

"Hmpf, thats because we are realists. Sure, chivalry is dead but that doesn't mean that we don't help people," he replied. "We still dedicate our lives to helping those who are unfortunate enough unlike you guys who just focus on your roles without a care for the unfortunate."

"At least we aren't assigned menial tasks like serving as escorts." At this the white knights hollered.

"Ha ha. So? At least we get to travel and learn more about the world, unlike you guys who are holed up all day inside the castle." the knights cheered.

"Holed up? Inside the castle? Bwahahaha, you make me laugh. We also travel around of course, with the king paying for our travel expenses." the white knights sneered at their counterparts with this statement.

"Oh really? That type of thinking breeds laziness and complacency. At least we work our assess off to earn money and make ends meet while you guys feed on the kings' hand." This shut up the white knights and the knights roared with approval, throwing insults at them.

With this reply, the brown haired knight fell silent, knowing that it was the truth, that they have been living of the wealth of another and not their own. The blonde knight saw his counterpart fall silent and said, "Look,this feud has gone on long enough and we both know that there is nothing to be gained by fighting," he paused for awhile and continued, "and besides, it looks as if the kings himself ignores what is happening inside the city."

After a few seconds, his counterpart replied, 'I know, I know. I was just sent here by the older members to try to insult you guys so I would prefer if we could settle this peacefully." With this reply both returned to their respective groups, knowing that they will meet again in the future.

Fortunately, both groups didn't come to blows with one another and dispersed, with each group returning to their respective places.

However, in most cases, the pronteran guards had the unenviable job of cleaning off the mess that they created, which often resulted in property damage that led to even more expenses, usually exceeding the city's budget.

As a result it put much stress on the city guards, sometimes having shortages of manpower and recruits dwindling by the number, prefering to travel to Geffen or Payon to become mages or achers instead of guards. Also some recruits became swordsmen since it gave them the freedom to travel around without the shackles of command.

Thus, peace returned in the street, which meant that nobody, aside from the knights, saw the altercation take place.

* * *

A person stood outside the castle gates, his hair dancing in the wind, observing the 'fight' if you could call it that. He stood at an impressive 6'2, which belied his sturdy build. He also wore a white, leather cloak that drifted around him.

The person was a man in his 50's, with bushy, white hair and age lines showing on his face. His emerald eyes were full of wisdom and experience, and his gentle expression reminded that of a retired veteran who had lived his life to its fullest. He was wearing a white suit of plate mail, with white paldrons covering both of his arms and on both his shoulder. He also wore white gauntlets on his hands, a white quisse over his knees and thighs and a white sabaton on both his feet.

Strapped on his back is a pole axe, a spear with an axe head mounted on top which can break through even the toughest of armors. The spear itself had some cracks on its axe head, with the tip of the spear missing the other half and the pole itself also showing scratch marks.

The man rubbed his coarse, rough beard in contemplation, as if he was a scholar looking for an answer.

After awhile, the man shook his head, turned around and walking back to his quarters which was located on the second floor of the castle. When he reached the middle of the castle, he saw three stairs that led to the second floor.

The first staircase was to his left.

The second staircase was in front of him.

And the last staircase was on his right.

He took the right staircase, and once he arrived on the second floor he passed by a portrait of a young man, barely in his 20's, with a geniuine smile plastered on his face. He stopped and stared at the picture, relieving memories of the past.

_*Flashback 20 years ago*_

_The caves of Payon are the stuff of myths and legends and the rumors that undead beings lie underground. It was because of these rumors that adventurers started to flock in the hopes of finding treasure in its murky depths._

_One of these adventurers was a swordsman, who wielded a two-handed sword in combat. He easily took care of the undead, who collapsed like a pile of bricks under his onslaught of attacks. He struck like lightning, killing 7 zombies in a single attack even before they spotted him._

_Upon closer inspection, this swordsman was a boy, barely in his teens, fighting against several skeleton warriors, undead monsters who wield daggers on both their hands. He was fighting against 3 of these creatures, with them missing all their attacks while the boy slipped in and out between their daggers._

_The skeleton warriors continued to attack in vain, all their futile attempts giving the swordsman more openings to exploit. He ruthlessly exploited these openings, taking one of them by surprise, with his blade sticking between its eye sockets and being bisected in two. The remaining two warriors charged him, seeing one of theirs killed. He dashed forward, executing a wide, horizontal slash that cut them in two._

_After the battle, he wiped the sweat off his face, his breathe haggard and his clothes covered in dust. He wiped the dust off his clothes and took a break, sitting near the entrance._

_By coincidence, a man clad in white armor passed him by and turned his head around towards him. The swordsman saw that his gaze was directed at him and he did the same. Both of them were silent for a few seconds but it was obvious to the swordsman that he was no ordinary man because this man was strong and experienced, with his battered pole axe giving him the answer._

_The man spoke first. "What are you doing here boy? You shouldn't be here training at your age."_

_"I came here because I was looking for strong opponents to fight", he replied, "and besides, I can take care of myself so I don't need anyone else."_

_When the boy spoke, the man saw determination in his eyes. The eyes that said 'I want to prove myself'. He knew that look because he had the same one at his age._

_"I see, then I suppose that I don't need to convince you to stop right?" he said with a smile plastered on his face._

_"Really? You won't stop me from training here?" the boy asked._

_"Yeah, since you want to prove yourself then I will just assume that you are mature enough to understand the consequences of your decision."_

_"Heh, I'll show you that I'm mature enough to do it!" he said this while puffing his chest. _

_The man also decided to teach him how to handle his sword, giving him tips and teaching him techniques that can maximize its use._

_"By the way kid, my name is Varius, Knight Commander of the White Knights," he said to the boy._

_"My name is Faulk and I'm going to become the most powerful swordsman in the world," he answered in return._

_And so a master-student relationship was formed between them, their bond as strong as a father and son relationship._

_*Flashback End*_

The man ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "Its been 20 years since I last saw you...son." he said, with a sad tone lacing his voice, his expression like that of a father who had missed his son for a long time. "I hope you're doing well in whatever you are doing."

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he muttered to himself, "You were always lazy, only taking action if you were motivated enough to do it." After he said this he closed his eyes in contemplation, opened them and then turned towards the direction of his quarters, with a small smile gracing his lips.

He never noticed the small tear that came from his eyes, nor the fact that he was 20 years young again.

* * *

_"Memories are priceless pieces of memorabilia. They can never be replaced nor bought, only made with your experiences both good and bad, with those whom you cherish." _-Author


	5. The Two Sisters

Chapter 4

* * *

The **Pronteran Church** had always made it a point that they are neutral, especially when it came to the fights that broke out between the **Knight's Guild** and the **Imperial Knights**. In fact, they are acknowledged as default mediators, with some of them being sent as envoys to the other cities to open up trade relations or to draw up a proposal that will benefit both parties involved.

In short, people often consider Priests as diplomats, though calling them as such might be going a bit too far. Diplomats serve the king personally, as he/she is the one assigned the role of visiting the other Kingdoms, most especially the **Schwartzvald Republic** and** Arunafeltz**, the desert country, to deliver a message from the king or to serve as his representative in the rare occasion that the king himself cannot make the trip.

On the other hand, envoys represented the city, with them being given the role of representatives in place of the city ruler. You can find these envoys scattered around the major cities of Rune Midgard like Prontera, Payon, Geffen, Morroc, Aldebaran and Juno, doing charitable work and often served as advisors to the city government.

Thus, it was common knowledge that the only thing that stood between a corrupt city official and his/her greed are these envoys because they were the ones in charge of reining in these negative influences. Needless to say, the envoys had a small degree of influence in the city, which made it easier for them to spread their teachings.

As a result, priest training not only involved advanced meditation exercises to use higher level healing magic but also the art of diplomacy, the art of creating a compromise to avoid conflict between two parties who don't agree with the other's terms.

When it was first revealed that they would be taught how to convince people, the priests complained, saying that they should not meddle in the affairs of the government and that whatever problems they had were none of their business.

However, Archbishop Hibram, the head of the **Pronteran Church** and a close confidant of the king himself, argued that implementing the said program will not only make it easier for the priests to spread their faith but will also allow them to break-up conflicts between people, not to mention the fact that it will keep the priests busy at least and not merely serve as dignified missionaries.

His argument effectively silenced any complaints or arguments that opposed the implementation of the program and the green light for the development of the new curriculum was approved, with the 59th batch of priests enrolled in the program.

Ironically, they were eventually called as missionaries, rather than envoys, since missionaries in the past convinced the people of their faith through their charitable work and involvement in their community.

And thus it ushered in the emergence of **Exorcists**, a group of priests who focused on exorcising undead rather than their healing duties and invented new tactics to combat the undead and demon hordes.

* * *

It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon when the afternoon mass began, with the sounds of praise and worship reverberating inside its vast halls. Inside, you can see a throng of people standing in fervent respect, their eyes focused on their song books and their mouths' singing along with the choir who sounded like angels' singing in heaven.

The church itself was a large cathedral with gothic architecture present in its design. The façade, or sometimes called the west end of the church had a large circular window on the middle and was surrounded by two tall spires on both sides. The building also featured flying buttresses on both sides composed of 6 columns each.

It exuded an aura of peace, making you feel as if nothing in the world can harm you. The smooth marble that made up its floors gave it a feeling of purity, for the priests of the church have taken their oath of chastity, to remain unmarried for the rest of their lives. The benches, sometimes called pews, were arranged by row on the left and on the right, with 15 benches on each side.

The podium was infront of the entrance of the church, with a church organ on its left and the priests' seat on its right. It was located on top of an elevated stage surrounded by flowers. The statue on top was a statue of Odin, the leader of the Gods, with another large circular window on top allowing the light to shine through, bathing the presiding priest in a glow of light, as if God was with them.

Observing the worship service near the entrance was a girl of medium height, with her soft, chocolate brown hair tied in a ponytail. She had large cat-like eyes with a shade of purple to them and wore the priestess uniform: a black, long sided slit dress that reached up to her legs which are covered in black leg stockings that reached up half her thighs, a white scapula secured firmly around her neck with a small silver cross dangling from it, and wore a pair of indigo colored sandals on her feet.

Overall, she would give off the impression of a cat who is lazily observing her surroundings.

She had a long mace, a long thin mace whose tip resembled that of a spear with 4 spikes arranged in a circular manner, dangling on the right side of her waist and a buckler, a round, sturdy shield strapped on her back. The said girl was yawning, obviously bored of the worship service being conducted.

"This is boring," she lamented, "if Erik was here then I would be going on an adventure right about now."

The said person sneezed in response, a cold chill suddenly coming over him.

"Oi Rika you're not a child anymore so stop complaining!" a voice, a female by the sound of it, responded behind her back.

Rika jumped in surprise, with her hands raised up protectively in front of her. The woman just laughed at her cute expression, with Rika's face sporting a red shade of embarrassment.

"Waaaa! Margaret is so mean!" she pouted and pointed at her in an accusing manner, "You know I'm not fit for a job that requires standing around!"

The woman, Margaret, was the same age and wore the same priestess uniform as Rika, with the only difference that she had long, flowing white hair that reached to her waist and used a stunner, a mace with a unique curved tip that can cause the stun effect on opponents, instead of a long mace and a square guard instead of a buckler. She was also beautiful, with a smile that can pierce the hearts of men.

"WAAAAH! SO CUTE!" she ignored Rika's outburst and glomped her between her breasts, with Rika flailing her arms around helplessly like a fish.

"NOOOO! LET ME GO ALREADY!" she said in a futile attempt to escape her grasp, which was surprisingly strong for a priestess.

"You really look like a cat Rika!" Margaret exclaimed, "It is a sin to be this cute and pure at the same time! It should be outlawed!"

Rika sweatdropped at this statement muttering, "You're the one who should be outlawed, not me."

As they went on with their *AHEM* sisterly bonding, Father Mareusis saw them doing 'that' and just sighed in response, slumping his shoulders since he has gotten used to these antics. _'I'm getting too old for this, I want to retire'_ he thought in his head.

He was a priest in his 60's, with his blonde hair in the style of a regular haircut, a close set of hazel eyes and a light beard under his chin. He wore a dark brown cassock, a priestly robe that priests always wore inside the church, paired with a pellegrina of the same color and wore a round shaped biretta on his head.

Seeing them still love each other as sisters' despite the fact that they are not related by blood bought a smile to his face and a memory from long ago:

_*Flashback 20 Years Ago*_

_Father Mareusis, who was wearing a white, long sleeved shirt ,gray shorts and black slippers on both his feet, swept the dust off the streets outside the church, with the soft breeze making him yawn. "Well, I guess that takes care of it." After ensuring that there was no speck of dust to be found or cleaned he returned to the church and told one of the acolytes to return the broom to its place._

_He suddenly heard two people fighting outside the garden which was located at the back of the church and decided to investigate if it was 'those two girls' arguing again, knowing that it would always lead to a duel between the two. He arrived at the scene and saw that it was 'those two girls' and just sighed and decided to watch their fight._

_When he went closer he saw two girls facing against each another. Both were dressed in a sunny white dress and stood infront of each other, with books piled all around them. The acolytes and priests around them just shrugged their shoulders and continued to do their duties since it was a common occurrence that they paid no mind to it._

_"I'll win this time Rika!" a girl with long white hair shouted._

_"Waaa, I didn't do nothing wrong Marge!" a girl with long, chocolate brown hair responded. "I just did what our teachers taught us.."_

_"It's no fair! You managed to master the Heal spell in 5 minutes, **5 minutes **while it took me 3 days to do so," the white haired girl lamented._

_"..But it was an easy spell and you just need practice to do it correctly," she muttered, loud enough to be heard by the white haired girl._

_"Practice!? You keep saying that when I don't even see you practice in the first place!" she said in an accusing tone._

_"Ummm...its not that I don't practice but.." she had a meek expression on her face, "I..um..currently practicing my new spell?" she said lamely._

_The girl just gave her a look that said 'You're not joking right?' with a frown on her face._

_The brown haired girl squeaked when she saw the girls expression, swearing that she saw an evil spirit materialize from out of nowhere behind her back._

_"Uuu...to think that my sister was better than I am," the white haired girl suddenly had fake tears in her eyes, "it must be the advantage of a natural born genius like her, unlike me who is only a prodigy." As quickly as it happened she reverted back to her old self._

_"What spell were you practicing Rika?" she asked the brown haired girl, with a look that said 'Tell me or else I'm gonna cuddle you.'_

_"Well...I was practicing one of my new spells called **Light Step**," she replied, slightly fidgeting because of the look Margaret was giving her, "it's a high speed movement spell that allows me to cover a lot of distance in a single step."_

_The white haired girl's jaw dropped wide open and her eye were the same size as dinner plates. "You're joking right?" she finally uttered, a look of disbelief etched on here face._

_"Um..no I'm not joking at all," Rika replied, her face set in a serious expression, "in fact I can show it to you if you want."_

_"Really? Then show it to me then," the girl demanded. Rika just sweatdropped and proceeded to demonstrate her new spell. _

_Father Mareusis was also interested in the new spell Rika invented since everyone knew her as a future acolyte initiate who excelled in both support and battle and said that inventing new light-based spells was her hobby. He knew that Rika was special since she not only mastered all the acolyte skills in a week, she was also the one who invented the **Holy Light** spell which had become the acolytes primary offensive light-spell against monsters._

_Turning his gaze to her he watched Rika gather energy around her, which slowly formed into small particles of light that surrounded her body. These small particles in turn gathered under her feet, emitting a small gust of wind around her. The light around her started to glow brighter and brighter until she was completely covered in a bright flash, which forced both Margaret and Father Mareusis to cover both their eyes to avoid being blinded. When the light died down she was nowhere to be found, with only a slight flicker on the ground denoting the point on which she stood awhile ago._

_Rika appeared behind Margaret's back and touched her from behind, emitting a scream from the white-haired girl._

_"WAAAA! ITS A GHOST!" she screamed, her left hand pointing towards her, "please don't terrorize me! I won't bother Rika again! I promise!" Margaret said in a pleading voice, kneeling with her legs on the ground with both hands clasped together._

_"Err..Margaret it's just me Rika," the brown haired girl answered, "I'm still alive you know."_

_Margaret blinked for a few seconds before straitening herself and exclaiming, "THAT WAS SO COOL!"_

_Rika just sweatdropped and answered, "It was nothing really although I feel a bit dizzy all of a sudden." Upon hearing this Margaret just hugged her in a tight embrace and told her that she will take good care of her until she recovers._

_Meanwhile, Father Mareusis stood still like a rock, shocked that Rika managed to use the long lost art of **Heaven Magic**, the origin of the **Divine Magic** that the **Pronteran Church** currently used today. "To think that she would be gifted with the ability to use true healing magic" he muttered, "she really is a gifted healer."_

_After recovering from his shock, a smile graced his lips, "It seems I need to step up her training so that she will able to control her power correctly." While both girls were having their *AHEM* bonding time, he went back inside and started to formulate a training regimen for Rika. "Hmm, I should also make a new training regimen for Margaret as well," he thought._

_Both girls never noticed the presence of Father Mareusis when they had their argument awhile ago._

_*Flashback End*_

"To think that they were just kids a few years ago," he muttered. "They have really grown strong and beautiful too." Shaking his head off he headed towards his office to the left of the church, where he still had to induct the newest batch of acolytes.

Eventually, some members of the church asked them to stop what they were doing, bowing their heads and apologizing before going out of the church. It was also the end of the mass since it was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

* * *

Outside, Rika and Margaret had agreed to forget everything that happened inside, with them vowing to never speak of it again and decided to stroll around the city.

As they strolled around the city, they noticed that the number of adventurers that came here awhile ago grew in number, with them nearly clogging the streets because of the numerous merchant stalls that dotted the streets. They also noticed some knights drinking and talking by a tavern nearby, their loud voices and boisterous laughter annoying the people around them.

Margaret noticed this and decided to confront them about their behavior, dragging Rika along with her. The knights noticed the two approaching girls, with the two of them getting up from their seats and walked towards them. Both girls were stopped by the two and with menacing grins on their faces asked them: "What are two beautiful ladies like you doing here? You wanna join us for some fun?" he said this while licking his lips, with lust in his eyes.

"We can make you feel good and more..If you know what I mean.." his other companion said while wiggling his eyebrows along with giving them the same look his friend gave them. Both girls shivered in fear before Margaret gathered up enough courage and stood up in front of them.

"Don't touch me perverts!" Margaret snapped at both of them, releasing Rika from her grip, with both knights leaning backwards in shock. "You guys are making a ruckus 3'o clock in the afternoon when you're supposed to do your jobs!" she shouted.

"Hey, hey don't tell us what to do," knight no. 1 said, "we're just taking a break you know? Just trying to unwind before going back to our posts."

"Yeah, what he said," knight no. 2 followed, "besides we always wanted some hot chicks to join us so that we can have fun."

"So..." knight no. 1 grabbed Margaret's left arm, with her struggling to escape from his grip.

"Come join us..." knight no. 2 said, his right arm holding Rika's waist, who wasn't strong enough to escape from his grip.

"And let's have some fun together!" both knights said this at the same time, with everyone in the vicinity sweatdropping, including their friends.

"Waaa...this is bad..I don't want to be violated!" the brown haired girl muttered, which wasn't heard by her captor.

"Noooo! Get away from me!" Margaret thrashed around with the knight unaffected by it.

The people who saw this were to afraid to help, while some of the adventurers who passed by ignored the their pleas for help. However, a young knight who was passing by saw this and darted towards them, appearing behind the backs of both knights, with them being startled by his appearance.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked with venom in his voice, "You think this is fun? You bastards don't have an inch of decency within you!"

"So? Is that all?" knight no. 1 said and waved his hand lazily, "You're just jealous because we got two hot chicks, from the Pronteran Church no doubt."

"Yeah, we got really lucky today!" knight no. 2 exclaimed, "Besides, we are willing to share, right bro?"

"Yeah that's right, all of us is gonna get a piece of ass!"

"True, we can finally get laid. I have longed for this moment and now it has come true!"

The young knight got tired of this and replied, "If you don't stop this then I'm gonna file a complaint at the office."

"Go ahead then, we don't care as long as we get some action."

"Grr..." the young knight was getting pissed off because of their uncaring attitude and was about to draw his sword when a voice came out of nowhere shouted: "If you don't want to die then release them both at once."

"Or what? Gonna file a complain against us? Get us demoted? Have us judged by the King?" knight no. 2 said in response.

A flash of silver was all he saw when he realized a blade being pointed at his throat. The knight saw this and began to shiver in fear and released Margaret, with his companion releasing her grip on Rika as well.

"Or I'm gonna cut your throat," the man whispered silently, as if death itself was talking to you. Rika's eyes widened in suprise when he heard that voice, a voice that she hasn't heard from since 5 years ago. The voice of the man who she fell in love with and never confessed her feelings to him.

* * *

**Note:**

**Some names here should be familiar to those who have played the game. They will become important to the story in the future.**


	6. A Meeting and an Aquaintance

Chapter 5

* * *

The moment Erik said those words, the atmosphere plunged into an indescribable aura of death, with everyone in the vicinity, excluding Rika and the two knights, being pinned to the ground and sweating so much as if their hearts were about to explode due to the immense pressure being exerted that could have killed everyone if it wasn't controlled properly.

The two knights on the other hand were as stiff as statues, paralyzed completely and unable to reply or even open their mouths to speak. They weren't even shaking in fear since they themselves were already hypnotized by the fear in the first place. Even their sweat didn't do much good, refusing to leave their bodies and preferred going back inside of it.

"Good…at least you understand right?" Erik said with a psychopathic tone in his voice, "That if you lay your dirty hands on them one more time** I'm gonna hunt you down, skin you alive and feed your corpse to the undead. Understood?"**

He saw that they were unable to answer his question because they were frozen by fear but nevertheless Erik continued, "It seems that we have reached an agreement then?" he said this as if it was a foregone conclusion, not to mention that he still had that sadistic smile in his expression. "It's a good thing you said yes since…." He put his face even closer to the knights ear, "….I would have made you two as one of my test subjects if you didn't."

Concealing his blade and seeing that the nearby people were pinned to the ground, with some incapacitated and some about to collapse, he released the pressure and the ominous aura disappeared as if it never appeared in the first place.

"_Ha…ha…ha…ha…what was that?"_ was the thought of everyone who were present in the area. The two knights collapsed on the ground, with their knees and hands supporting their weight and breathing heavily, as if they trained for a month without rest. Erik's sadistic smile disappeared and he returned to normal.

"Huh? What happened here?" he asked Rika, who was gaping at him as if he didn't remember what happened a few minutes ago.

"Err…um…" she struggled to find the right words to say since she was blushing like a tomato because of his presence, "well...t-they t-t-took u-us b-both t-to h-have f-fun w-with t-t-them," she stuttered while pointing at the two knights, "a-a-and y-you c-came a-and t-threatened t-them w-with t-the p-p-promise o-of d-death i-if t-they didn't a-agree w-w-with y-your p-proposal," she finished, about to collapse due to embarrassment.

"...What?" he answered with a disbelieving tone to his voice, "I threatened these guys," pointing his thumb at the two knights who were shivering in fear, "that I will kill them if they harass you guys again?"

"Y-yeah…" Rika replied to his question, "…and thank you for saving us…Erik" she muttered the last part silently, which was not heard by him.

"Um…you're welcome? I guess..." he finished lamely, with an awkward atmosphere beginning to form between the two. The people saw this and told both of them to _'do it somewhere else in private'_ causing Erik to face fault and Rika to blush up a storm…again. However, when they saw Faulk walking towards them, the people dispersed and left them alone.

Faulk saw the two knights still shivering in fear and told them: "I told you to take your jobs seriously and now you guys are gonna get in trouble." Both knights understood this to be _'The Knight Commander is gonna skin you alive'_ knowing that Faulk himself is even more sadistic than the assassin. The knights just nodded their heads and ran back to their posts, with their friends doing the same for fear of being chewed out alive.

"That was a nice entrance bro," Faulk commented, "and you're looking well as well Rika." Rika just nodded in response to this, knowing that he was merely saying _'It's been a long time since I've seen you.'_

"Yeah…its been five years right big bro?" Rika said in a respectful tone, like a young sibling who is fiercely loyal and dedicated to his elder sibling.

"Now, now there's no need to be respectful since we are all family you know?" he responded while patting her head, emitting cat-like sounds in contentment. Erik just facepalmed at this and decided to help off her priestess friend.

Margaret woke up groggily, her head still aching from the pressure. When she could finally think clearly she saw Erik offering her hand to her and decided to accept it, being lifted up to stand with her legs still shaking. The assassin then turned around and went back to Faulk and Rika, with Margaret gazing at the assassin's back.

"Wow…so that was my sisters' crush huh?" she muttered, "He's not bad at all…not to mention that he has that innocent look on his face." She then turned her eyes towards Rika and thought to herself _'you're one lucky woman sis, I'm jealous of you.'_

The young knight who managed to recover saw that his idol Faulk was there and decided to greet him. Before he did so he went over to Margaret and asked her if she was alright.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Margaret blushed at his concern and replied: "Yes, I'm okay thanks for your concern."

The young knight breathed out a sigh of relief, saluted in front of her and went back to Faulk. Margaret noticed the young knights star-struck look and focused her gaze towards Faulk.

"So that's him huh," she observed, "the legendary warrior who slew the **Seven Generals** and is also called the **Boss Slayer**." When they were together, Rika used to tell stories of her adventures with them, and knew that all of them were considered legendary warriors, Rika herself included, who are rumored to have the ability to take on entire armies singled-handedly.

She also knew that, thanks to Rika, they were given names because of their power and skill:

Faulk, who was given the title of **The God of War** because of his ability on the battlefield and the fact that his presence alone can win an entire battle or war, regardless of the odds stacked against him.

Erik, who was given the title of **The God of Death** because of his ability to kill his enemies through his presence alone.

Rika, who was given the title of **The White Goddess** thanks to her ability to heal and support several people at once and also because of the increased effectiveness of her light spells.

Geffen's former Wizard Marshall , the only wizard who could chain several spells at once and is unaffected by Land Protector, who is called the **Magic Meister**.

The founder of the Midgard Exchange, who was said to have forged seven divine swords from basic materials and given the title of **The Godsmith**.

Miki, known as** The Hunter Killer** because of her perfect accuracy with the bow, which is unaffected by external factors, not to mention the fact that she can always track her target in any terrain, under any condition no matter how far they are from her.

The former chapter leader of the Order of Odin, who was known as **The Lightbearer **because of his immunity to evil and also because of his stalwart faith in his religion.

The creator of the yggdrasil potion, who was given the title of **The Creator** because of her many recipes and the fact that she single-handedly founded the branch of Homunculus Creation.

The wandering monk, whose fists can cause earthquakes and can punch through any defense, no matter how strong or powerful it was, who was given the title of **God Hand**.

The traveling duo who were given the titles of **The Deceiver** and **The Temptress**, because of their 1-2 punch that always succeeded in sowing chaos among their enemies.

**The Maverick Hero**, so-called because of his tendency to cause trouble when doing missions and also because of the fact that he cannot be captured.

The rumored **Great Scholar**, said to have discovered and unlocked the secret of Valhalla, the hall of fallen heroes.

All of them were said to be powerful, with each one said to rival the power of the Gods themselves. Although it is a bold claim, it is true to an extent since they were basically given God-like powers in a human body. Margaret also realized that Rika will be going on an adventure again with them because of their presence.

"Welll Rika, you don't have to tell me that you're going on a mission," she muttered, "since you told me that it would happen sooner or later."

Nevertheless, she decided to greet them, if only to show them respect since they were Rika's friends and because of the fact that they saved both of them.

* * *

While Faulk, Rika and Erik were currently talking to one another, they noticed a young knight approaching them, with Faulk excusing himself for awhile and walked towards him. The young knight noticed that Faulk was walking towards his direction and stood in attention when he stopped infront of him.

"Sir! It's good to see you again sir!" the young knight said with a salute. Faulk just chuckled at this and waved it off.

"Well Seyren, its good to see you too," Faulk answered, "so I've heard that you were chosen as a candidate for the Imperial Knights?"

"Yes Sir! they said that they wanted me to join them because of my excellent performance on and off the field sir!" Seyren answered, "And I couldn't have done it without your help sir!"

"Hmm...that's not true at all since you worked your ass off to get this far," Faulk countered with a thoughtful look on his face. "I just taught you the basics and left the rest up to you and now you will become one of the them."

"Thank you sir!" Seyren replied in a respectful tone, knowing that Faulk, his idol, was complementing him. On the other hand, Faulk himself, after a few seconds of thinking, decided to have a mock battle with Seyren in order to gauge how much has he improved.

"Well Seyren, since this will be the last time I'll be seeing you in a knights uniform, how about we have a practice match like old times?" he asked Seyren, whose eyes were as big as saucers with his mouth wide open in surprise.

"A duel sir?" Seyren replied, his tone hinting that he was extremely nervous, knowing that he could never beat him in spar and that he won't last a couple of seconds against him and against his idol of all people.

"Well, you could say that it is a duel," he answered, "but think of this as testing your skill so that you would know which areas you need to work on because becoming an Imperial Knight means having the skill to take on opponents of all types and you need to be able to adapt."

Faulk's answer immediately meant that Seyren will fight him, whether he likes it or not, but it will also be a good chance to see how much Seyren himself has improved. They agreed to have their duel at 5 o'clock in the afternoon since Faulk still had a meeting with Rika and the others. They said their goodbyes and Faulk went back to them and saw both Erik and Rika chatting, with Erik offering the occasional response while Rika led the rest of the conversation.

"To think that I would be fighting against Sir Faulk," he muttered to himself, "I'll do my best to not disappoint him then." As he said this he noticed another adventurer who was approaching Faulk and the others. It was a female hunter with a falcon perched on her left shoulder. He heard her talking to the falcon as she passed by him, ignoring the looks that some of the people were giving her.

"So Ray you missed me that much?" Miki asked her companion, using her right hand to pat his head.

"Brrawk! Brrawk!" Ray answered her, flapping his wings to emphasize it. She just chuckled in response and replied "Yeah, yeah I miss you too you know? It's been 5 years since we've fought together."

"Brrawk! Brrawk! Brrawk!" Ray acknowledged in return, puffing up his chest making Miki smile. "Well, I guess its time to go back to those guys. God knows what kind of idiocy those two are gonna get into." She grabbed a pet food from her bag pack, fed it to her falcon and walked towards them.

Seyren just stood there in silence, contemplating on whether or not hunters can understand animal talk or are just crazy people. He just shrugged it off and returned to the Prontera Chivalry to prepare the training ground for their duel, praying that he would come out of it alive. 'I just have to pray that he will take it easy on me' he thought to himself.

* * *

Rika saw Miki approach them with her falcon in tow and waved at her which she returned with her own. Faulk and Erik just gave her a questioning look that said 'Where have you been?'. Miki decided to tell them the reason why she went on her own after their arrival 2 hours ago:

_*Flashback 2 hours ago*_

_The party of three arrived at Prontera's north gate, where they saw a constant stream of adventurers going in and out of it. Since they were many people jostling for their turn to enter, Faulk decided to use his authority as a former Knight Commander to immediately gain entry. The guards who were in-charge immediately noticed Faulk approaching them and decided to open the gates so that they won't be slowed down by the masses of people present._

_As they passed by the guards, Faulk muttered a quick 'Thank you' to them before he went inside, with the guards standing still, knowing that they just met the strongest former Knight Commander in Prontera's history. Upon seeing this the crowd became more agitated and rowdy, angry that a group of three adventurers managed to gain access easily while they were suffering from the heat outside. The guards decided to call for back-up since the mob started to throw apples, stones and even potions at them._

_Meanwhile, Faulk, Erik and Miki started to wander around the streets and saw many merchant stalls selling their wares to passerbys. They also saw that some of these merchant stalls were operated by merchants and even blacksmiths themselves, their wares neatly arranged with a blanket underneath it to make it presentable. Faulk noticed that one of the stalls, a merchants' cart decorated with flowers, was selling dark chocolate, an extremely rare commodity in Prontera, and decided to buy it for **her**._

_"Excuse me sir," he asked the shop keeper politely, "how much for the dark chocolate?"_

_"Its 2000 zen sir knight," the shop keeper replied, "but you get another two pieces free if you buy it for 3000 zen."_

_Faulk thought it over, muttering 'its really cheap so I should take advantage of his offer' and decided to buy two. He gave the shop keeper 6000 zen, stored the chocolate in his pocket and returned to Erik and Miki, who were still wandering around and deciding what to buy for themselves._

_When Faulk arrived, they noticed that he was carrying six bars of dark chocolate, and understood that he bought it for **her **as a gift. They continued to stroll around, passing by the occasional bard singing his songs and the occasional dancer doing her exotic dance moves, charming all the males in the vicinity. _

_Suddenly, Miki, with her extremely sharp hearing, heard the screeching of a falcon nearby and excused herself from both men as she went to investigate. Faulk and Erik decided not to wait for her and went around the city, enjoying the sites and resting on its rustic and elegant benches. However, Erik saw a commotion in the distance and decided to investigate, leaving Faulk alone with himself._

_As this was happening, Miki searched around the city for the source of the voice and saw a falcon perched on a tree near the guardhouse that led to the castle. Fortunately, the guard that was supposed to be on duty was taking his break and Miki managed to call out the falcon._

_Miki saw that the said falcon was Ray, her closest companion and personal falcon. She realized that Ray went looking for her when she started to travel from Payon and that he made the entire journey from Hugel just to be with her. She was touched by his dedication and decided to spend a little time with him, not knowing about the commotion that was happening nearby._

_When she went back to their meeting place, both men were gone and she got mad that they didn't wait for her to finish with her falcon also showing an angry look on its face._

_"Those two idiots are gonna get it later," she said in an angry tone but just sighed, knowing that they both had their reasons for leaving her behind. _

_"As long as they have a valid reason then there's no need to get mad about it, right Ray?" she asked her falcon, who just 'Bwarrked' in response._

_*Flashback End*_

"...and you guys know the rest," she finished. Both men just nodded their heads in response because they knew that she was telling the truth, with Rika listening with rapt attention to her story awhile ago. Miki turned her attention to both men and had a pissed off expression on her face.

"Oh, before I forget, I have to ask you guys a question," Miki said in a threatening voice, with Erik suddenly sweating in fear and Faulk just being his usual self, yawning with boredom. "Why didn't you wait for me to come back? I thought you guys were gone."

"Well, we were a bit tired from our journey, not to mention the fact that we wanted to take a break for awhile," Faulk replied, "beside, we planned on waiting for you awhile ago you know? But there was a commotion nearby and I was tired so Erik decided to investigate it by himself."

"I see, no wonder I couldn't find you guys," she answered, the threatening tone in her voice gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Erik just released the breath he was holding, lucky that Faulk was the one who answered her question. Rika saw that it was very strange for the four of them to be talking outside and offered to let them stay at the church which they accepted.

Margaret saw that the four of them were walking towards the church and decided to thank them inside, quickly changing her direction towards the church.

The rest of the day passed by, with Faulk excusing himself after remembering his promise to Seyren about their duel and the three of them promising Faulk that they would come and watch their fight.

* * *

_"A spark is all that you need to rekindle your precious memories"_ -Author


End file.
